How To Watch Every Oscar Nominee For Best Picture Before The 2024 Academy Awards
On Tuesday, January 23, the Oscar nominations were officially announced ... and just like every year, ten movies were anointed as contenders for the very best picture of last year (it might be 2024 now, but the Oscars are honoring the previous year's top films). So how can you watch all of them before the ceremony reveals the best picture winner on March 10?
Let's begin with the ones you can watch from the comfort of your own home — although you'll need to spend at least a little bit of money to either rent or buy the films (as of this writing). Celine Song's stunning debut, "Past Lives," which tells the story of two childhood sweethearts who reunite years after the fact, is available to rent or buy on platforms like Amazon and Apple. It also earned a nod for Best Screenplay, which was also written by Song.
Justine Triet's gripping drama "Anatomy of a Fall," which picked up five Oscar nominations, tells the harrowing tale of novelist Sandra Voynter (Best Actress nominee Sandra Hüller) as she's accused of pushing her husband from the balcony of their remote home in the French Alps. This is also available to rent or purchase on Amazon or Apple, but be aware that if you choose to rent, platforms typically add a time limit to enjoy the film; both of the aforementioned platforms give the viewer 48 hours once they've pressed play for the first time.
To see all of the Best Picture nominees for 2024, you'll have to go to a movie theater
As of press time, two Best Picture nominees — "The Zone of Interest" and "Poor Things" — are still playing on the big screen. While it's likely that they'll end up on a streaming service or available to rent or buy soon, cinephiles might want to make a journey to see them in the theater before the ceremony.
"The Zone of Interest" — loosely based on a novel of the same name by Martin Amis — is directed and written by Jonathan Glazer and focuses on the Höss family. If that name sounds even vaguely familiar, that's because the real patriarch of the family, Rudolph Höss, lived next door to the concentration camp at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. (Sandra Hüller, who stars in "Anatomy of a Fall," also plays a supporting role in "The Zone of Interest" as Rudolph's wife Hedwig.) "The Zone of Interest" performed admirably well at the nominations, picking up nods for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Sound, International Feature Film, and Best Director for Glazer.
As for "Poor Things," this raunchy, rollicking statement on feminine autonomy and a woman's journey comes from Yorgos Lanthimos and features his frequent collaborator, Emma Stone. As Bella Baxter — a woman with the brain of an infant who must make her way through the world — Stone is the loosest and strangest she's ever been. It's also one of her best performances, so it's no wonder she was nominated for Best Actress. Her co-star, Mark Ruffalo, made his way into the supporting actor race, and "Poor Things" also scored nominations for its screenplay, cinematography, costume design, and more, with 11 nominations overall.
Some of the Best Picture nominees are available on popular streamers
In addition to at-home rentals and movie theaters, a handful of the best picture nominees are available to stream on popular services. One is still forthcoming as of this writing, however: Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," a historical epic about the creator of the atomic bomb, arrives on Peacock on February 16. The film performed admirably on Oscar nomination morning, scoring 13 nominations — the most of any film honored at the ceremony — and has been hailed as the likely victor.
The other half of the phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer," Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," ended up with 8 nominations (though Gerwig and star Margot Robbie were left out of Best Director and Actress, regrettably). You can watch this Best Picture nominee — featuring Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's nominated screenplay and Ryan Gosling's nominated supporting turn — on Max. As for Alexander Payne's big-hearted dramedy "The Holdovers," which picked up nominations for its screenplay and Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph's lead and supporting performances, that's available to watch on Peacock.
Bradley Cooper's second directorial effort, "Maestro," in which he stars as famed composer Leonard Bernstein, earned nods for Cooper's performance as well as one for his co-star Carey Mulligan. In total, it scored seven nominations and is streaming on Netflix. Finally, Martin Scorsese's powerful "Killers of the Flower Moon," which stars nominee Lily Gladstone and tells the story of the massacre of Osage Native Americans — which also earned Scorsese another nod for directing — is currently streaming on AppleTV+.
The Oscars air on ABC on Sunday, March 10 at 7PM EST.